Epson LX-300 II

[3583Bytes]

I recently got a free Dot Matrix Printer with a serial & parallel interface.  The model is Epson LX-300 II.  It is a fairly new printer but with the serial interface I thought I can do some rudimentary printing on my Amiga 2000.  However all I get is garbage.

Is this a lost cause I should abandon or is there a trick to getting this to work?

Thanks

[3583Bytes]

The LX-300 II supports ESC/2, so it should work with the regular AOS Epson driver over the parallell port. I haven't tried in years, and I only did it in UAE, but I got it working when I had one.

It's a noisy bugger, but quite decent print quality and it's built like a tank. Did you get the colour printing cartridge for it?

Thanks, where would I get this AOS Epson driver?  I tried some of the ones that came with Workbench 1.3 and it did not seem to work.

Also does it matter if I use the Serial or Parallel (Printer has both), I currently do not have a Parallel cable and my understanding is that the pinout is slightly different from the regular PC one.  But I do have a Serial cable that came with the Printer.

The printer has a B/W ribbon only, but I don't expect to do much of real printing, its just for fun.

[3583Bytes]

What driver are you using?

I tried the generic one, and a few of the Epson ones that came with Workbench 1.3

Currently I am using Workbench 3.1 but my devs/printers folder was empty (other than generic).

[3583Bytes]

Is there any reason to not install OS3.9 or use TurboPrint?  Yes, you can use a 25-pin straight thru RS-232 cable on the Serial port as the printer cable ends in a 36 pin D-connector.  The issue with serial printers is in the negotiation of speed, handshaking, and stop bits.

I don't have an Amiga 1200/4000, perhaps my 2000 could run it but I never looked into it.

I was just kind of hoping the generic print driver would work enough to print regular text.

[3583Bytes]

Well have you tried a parallel/Centronics cable and the generic printer?

I don't have an Amiga Parallel Cable.

[3583Bytes]

Here is your first chance to spend $3 and buy something off eBay!

I have no problems buying a cable from ebay (although $3 on ebay is $15 in reality)

I just want to make sure that I can actually use it though.  My understanding is that I can setup any printer to use a serial or parallel connection.  I have the serial cable, is there any reason why serial would not work but parallel would?

[3583Bytes]

Can I ask where you came to that "understanding?"

And the reason that some printers came with an RS-232 interface was to connect to Apple computers that only came with serial connections.  Old and obscure printers that lack a manual stating the requirements for an RS-232 interface in terms of Baud, protocol, and stop bits, can be connected by trial and error.  I worked in a computer project that it only took 3 weeks of constant, 8-hour day (paid) work to accomplish this.  If three bucks would have fixed the issue, I'm just guessing, mind you, that someone would have chipped it in.

If you a so head strong that you are determined to do it "your way" [thank you, Frank Sinatra], locate Apple's serial protocol, set the Amiga's serial port to match it, and send all printer output to the serial port -- use "text.txt > SER:" for testing.

Forty years of computer experience, a degree in Computer Science from a private university, 29 years of Amiga ownership and use, and I end up telling people how to save three dollars on a cable that most folks threw away 10 years ago...

.

My understanding came from the little Printer icon on Workbench that has an option to setup a printer connection via Serial or Parallel.  If you are telling me that this does not actually work then no problem.  Someone from my Amiga club has offered to give me a spare cable.  All I wanted to hear is some small paragraph on how to get this working.  In between the $3 cable discussions I am hearing that:

1. Connecting via Serial is too much effort and I should skip this.
2. Once I have a proper Parallel cable it should work.

Thanks,

[3583Bytes]

Step 1: Ignore danbeaver's snarky and condescending attitude
 Step 2: Just get a parallel cable, it will probably work much easier, lol

Thanks that is what I will do